Harvest aids

A foam-lined picking box, with curtained bottom, is used during harvest at D-L orchards. Right, stepladders are stored until harvest time.

Platforms are very important at Davodeau-Ligonniere orchards and are used for hanging hail nets, hand thinning, and pruning, but not usually for picking. They have one platform for every 25 acres.

During harvest, workers pick in pairs and pick into a foam-lined box, with a curtained bottom. The box has handles instead of shoulder straps and is set on the stepladder when being filled. Workers use stepladders to reach the fruit and share a bin situated on a small trailer that they can move short distances.

Bins are dropped and retrieved from the field by ­custom-made, hydraulic bin trailers.